{"id":107010,"date":"2024-11-14T16:57:11","date_gmt":"2024-11-14T21:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=107010"},"modified":"2024-11-14T16:57:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T21:57:11","slug":"celtics-jaylen-brown-right-nike-all-along","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/14\/celtics-jaylen-brown-right-nike-all-along\/","title":{"rendered":"Was Celtics\u2019 Jaylen Brown Right About Nike All Along?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Maybe Boston Celtics star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brownja02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jaylen Brown<\/a> wasn\u2019t imaging his beef with Nike after all.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, Nike Basketball\u2019 s <em>X<\/em> account sent out a tweet that caught a lot of people\u2019s attention. \u201cNothing childish about \u2018em. 59 for the Greek freak,\u201d the post read. Referencing Milwaukee Bucks superstar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>\u2019s godlike <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/14\/giannis-antetokounmpo-greek-god-act-bucks-prayer\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">59-point explosion<\/a> on Wednesday night, there was clear purpose behind the tweet.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Yall got weird energy <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/f8DTuq2YCQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/f8DTuq2YCQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FCHWPO\/status\/1857148908176044111?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 14, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Antetokounmpo, a two-time NBA MVP, has been signed with Nike since 2013. A celebratory post after a client has that type of performance is par for the course. However, \u00a0where it gets deeper is their assertion that Antetokounmpo isn\u2019t \u201cchildish.\u201d There\u2019s only one real explanation for why they made that specific comment, to be sure.<\/p>\n<p>In the Celtics\u2019 and Bucks\u2019 last matchup, Brown and Antetokounmpo got into a sort of kerfuffle. Antetokounmpo seemed to elbow Brown in the face, which wasn\u2019t called. Then, on the way down the court, Antetokounmpo faked out Brown as if he was ready to extend the olive branch.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Giannis Antetokounmpo elbowed Jaylen Brown in the head, then faked the handshake on the other end! \ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udc80 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/13Ly2o9n2a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/13Ly2o9n2a<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CourtsideBuzzX\/status\/1855727205998870880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 10, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>After the game, Brown would tell reports that Antetokounmpo was a \u201cchild.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u201cGIANNIS IS A CHILD.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jaylen Brown on Giannis Antetokounmpo faking a handshake to him after elbowing Brown in the head \ud83d\ude33 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cJLWrShIbJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/cJLWrShIbJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CourtsideBuzzX\/status\/1855767385602715976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 11, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Antetokounmpo was surprised, though acknowledging that he tries to stay young.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Bucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Bucks<\/a> F Giannis Antetokounmpo on being called a child postgame by Boston G Jaylen Brown\ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, that\u2019s what he said? Dang.\u201d <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/aGgE4VLqaR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/aGgE4VLqaR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 97.3 The Game (@TheGameMKE) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheGameMKE\/status\/1855772142169735538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 11, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>With that being said, the real story isn\u2019t about the two Eastern Conference champions.<\/p>\n<h3>Was Celtics\u2019 Jaylen Brown Right About Nike All Along?<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s about Brown\u2019s insistence he was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/07\/28\/paris-olympics-jaylen-brown-fires-back-grant-hill-controversy\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">left off the Paris Olympics roster<\/a> because of a tenuous relationship with Nike. At the time, it seemed possible but implausible. Nike\u2019s recent comments, though in jest, bring into question whether Brown <em>is<\/em> right to point the blame at the company.<\/p>\n<h3>There\u2019s Still Reasonable Doubt<\/h3>\n<p>One tweet doesn\u2019t mean that Nike had that much influence on USA Basketball manager Grant Hill\u2019s decisions, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/08\/olympics-grant-hill-jaylen-brown-future-team-usa-eligibility\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">if any at all<\/a>. A couple of other strong players were seemingly cuts, including Philadelphia 76ers star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/georgpa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul George<\/a>. This is notable because George is a Nike athlete and universally considered to be one of the best two-way wings in the NBA. A few young players have even <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/27\/nba-carmelo-anthony-names-kiyan-player-comp\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">admitted to idolizing<\/a> George, like former NBA star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/anthoca01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carmelo Anthony<\/a>\u2019s son, Kiyan Anthony.<\/p>\n<p>As Brown says though, there\u2019s \u201cweird energy.\u201d Nike doesn\u2019t just go around taunting every player. Whether the tweet was a reaction to Brown\u2019s comments might not ever be known. Even still, Brown has a right to feel or think whatever he does about the company. At this point, all that can be sure is there\u2019s no way they\u2019ll be partnering up anytime soon.<\/p>\n<p>Not that Brown will mind, after <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/02\/jaylen-browns-playbook-a-blueprint-for-trae-young\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">launching an independent shoe line<\/a> this summer: 741.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maybe Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown wasn\u2019t imaging his beef with Nike after all. On Thursday, Nike Basketball\u2019 s X account sent out a tweet that caught a lot of people\u2019s attention. \u201cNothing childish about \u2018em. 59 for the Greek freak,\u201d the post read. Referencing Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s godlike 59-point explosion on Wednesday [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":107034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1608,15,62,60],"tags":[306,2122,450,247,1052,50],"class_list":["post-107010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celtics","category-basketball","category-bucks","category-nba","category-olympics","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-grant-hill","tag-jaylen-brown","tag-nike","tag-olympics","tag-paul-george"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}